Will the Sooke of the not-so-distant future have grown even more beautiful, green, sustainable and community oriented? Or will it be characterized by unaffordable housing, loneliness, clogged roads and escalating ecological collapse?

Renowned BC author, environmental organizer and futurist Guy Dauncey will offer his inspiring view of the years ahead on Monday, May 2 at 7p.m. at the Sooke Harbour House. Admission is by donation. Dauncey will also be addressing Youth for Change and Environmental Studies students that afternoon at Edward Milne Community School.

In his newly published novel Journey to the Future: A Better World is Possible, the founder of the BC Sustainable Energy Association envisions a future brimming with innovation and hope. The climate crisis is being tackled. The solar revolution is underway. And a new green cooperative economy is taking shape.

“I have poured my heart, soul, and twenty cargo-bike loads of research into imagining what our future could be like in 2032,” says Dauncey. The book is set in Vancouver, which by then is meeting its intention of becoming one of the greenest cities in the world. Yet his vision — based on current science, trends and breakthrough technologies — can easily be downsized to fit communities of all sizes in the developed world, Sooke included.

Dauncey’s protagonist, 24-year-old Patrick Wu, makes a four-day visit to the future. He finds that many of today’s possibilities have become a reality, from public banking and citizens’ income to strong resilient neighbourhoods and 100% renewable energy. The future still has dangers, crises and challenges, yet humankind is addressing them sanely, responsibly and for both the common good and the sake of future generations.

Attendees can expect an exciting, fast-paced audio-visual presentation delivered with humour, passion, enthusiasm and generous helpings of Dauncey’s deep knowledge about science, climate, energy, finance, physics, the natural world, sociology and human consciousness.

“It is at one and the same time a great yarn and a call to action,” says Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May. Adds ForestEthics co-founder Tzeporah Berman: “Guy has produced a progressive tour­de­force unlike any book that I have ever read. Part creative fiction, part manifesto for the world we want and need.”

Guy Dauncey (aka The Practial Utopian) is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, founder of the BC Sustainable Energy Association, an Honorary Member of the Planning Institute of BC, a Fellow of the Findhorn Foundation, and the author or co-author of ten books.

The event is sponsored by Transition Sooke with special thanks to the Sooke Harbour House’s Frederique Philip. For more details please visit: www.journeytothefuture.com.